Friday, a workmate and I finally decided to take the plunge. I will admit my expectations were low. I mean, come'on, we have loads of great authentic Mexican restaurants (And lunch trucks, shout out to my favorite Luncheria Mexicana Alicia) around here and I seriously doubted that a texmex place was going to thrill me. What I got was a nice surprise.
Our waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. The first thing he informed us was that Bumpy's promotes use of fresh and local products, including, but not limited to produce, beef, and chicken. Case in point, the grilled vegetable side dish is seasonal, so it changes constantly, depending on what our local farmers are growing during that time period. Today's offerings were zucchini, yellow squash, and onions. Yes my friends, that is exactly what is in season in Arkansas right now!
Now, seeing I too promote local, fresh, and sustainable, it seems like serendipity that Bumpy's and I would find one another. I cannot tell you how excited I was about this news (a new blog was flowering in my head), so much that I whipped out my phone to start taking pictures of food and asked our very patient waiter dozens of questions.
Like other texmex restaurants, Bumpy's offers complimentary salsa and chips. The salsa was a decent, hardy variety with a good kick to it. I was told if I wanted spicier, I could opt for the Salsa Verde. I passed, wishing to concentrate this time on my food and not wanting to consume that many chips. My friend ordered the queso, which after sampling seemed to be a hopped up version of my favorite Velveeta/Rotel combination, quite tasty. Our waiter assured us it was not Velveeta and that fresh cheese was melted every day and the tomato spice combination were indeed local. This was all served with slices of fresh local peppers which I adore.
I spotted fish tacos on the menu and decided to get one my weekly fish serving out of the way. (I am behind, but I will be having fish tonight, so all is good!) I figured with this being Arkansas and Bumpy's promoting local, the fish was probably catfish. I am not a fan fish, as you are all aware, and especially not catfish. Before I settled on my choice I asked JP (Not going to list his name, because I didn't get his permission to put him in this blog) what type of fish were in them. I asked if it were catfish and he said, no, it was a Mexican fish called pangasius. A warning bell went off in my head. Where had I heard that before? Nevertheless, I opted for the tacos and was not disappointed.
They served a spicy tartar sauce with my tacos that was a delicious companion to the fish . The fish nuggets in the tacos was a mild flavored fish coated in a well seasoned, crispy coating. The grilled vegetables, including a roasted pepper, was so enjoyable. I truly love grilled vegetables, especially local, seasonable ones! The black beans, topped fresh tomatoes and peppers perfectly complimented the already flavorful beans. This lunch was so good and filling, that I was only able to consume half of my meal. This meant take home for a yummy meal latter.
My companion chose the chicken enchiladas with cheesy potato soup and cheesy mashed potatoes. She deemed her meal completely delicious and quickly consumed the majority of her meal. She's a picky eater, so it must have been good!
We agreed that this was a very lovely experience and Bumpy's would be put into our lunch rotation. I left there full, satisfied, and happy that I had found another restaurant that promoted the same values I do. The price wasn't too bad either, cashing in at around $11 apiece for each of us, the same amount we tend to spend at our favorite Mexican restaurant.
On a side note, the name of that fish continued to bother me. Being the food sleuth I am, I did some researching. Suddenly it came back to me. OH! THAT PANGASIUS! Yeah, the Vietnamese Pangasius (yeah it's not local), is a shark catfish that has flooded US fish markets. US fish farmers, most notably Arkansas catfish farmers, raised a stink that this was ruining the local markets, due to the abundance and low cost. They even went as far as demanding that it could not be labeled as catfish, because it was not truly a catfish and confused consumers. The farmers got their way and pangasius is now labled as Basa, TRA, SWAI, PANGASIUS, CHINA SOLE, BOCOURTI, RUFFY, PACIFIC DORY.
Although I do enjoy the taste of pangasuis, much prefering it over the taste of catfish, I feel that if Bumpy's using this fish, while promoting themselves as supporting local products, that they are being a bit misleading. I am hoping my waiter was wrong and plan to call Monday and clarify what fish they do use. I would rather they support local fisheries and gulf cost fisherman, than to use a fish that a picky fish eater like I would eat. When I find out for certain, I will update this blog. Let's not condemn them before we have the facts. If I in fact do find out the waiter was correct, I will encourage the owners to rethink this practice.
Still, I applaud Bumpy's for promoting local and seasonal. This is a trend in central Arkansas that I hope I continue to see grow. I would really like to know if any of my local farmer friends are suppliers for Bumpy's. If you are, hit me up with an email. (located in the profile section of my blog) I will keep it confidential, unless you and Bumpy's wish to publicize it. Then I will be all about the shoutouts. ;)
If any of my readers know of other restaurants, please alert me. I am very much wanting to promote these places. Local and fresh is best!
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